Gina Carano might just be the next female action superstar, but it won’t be thanks to “Haywire.”

The new film shows Carana easily translating her MMA fighting chops to the big screen, and all that scrapping clearly didn’t mar her lovely features. But director Steven Soderbergh can’t leverage Carano’s unique screen presence, nor a cast far too good for such a rote spy caper.

“Haywire” marks Soderbergh’s second consecutive genre outing, and it’s clear he’s ill-suited for pulp. Last year’s “Contagion” couldn’t rouse our senses despite the fictional death of millions. Now, with “Haywire,” the soon-to-retire auteur wastes the debut of an electric lead.

Carano stars as Mallory, a private government contractor who takes assignments nations don’t want to claim as their own. The film’s electric opening finds her squaring off with a fellow agent (Channing Tatum, looking suitably hung over) in a diner and fleeing the scene in a stranger’s sports car.

It’s a grand introduction to Carano, who survives a splash of steaming coffee to the face and keeps on kicking.

(more…)

Paula Patton provides a convincing action heroine in the new film “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” But Patton might not last 30 seconds – on screen or off – against the star of the upcoming “Haywire.

Gina Carano, a model-slash-actress-slash mixed martial artist, is the star of director Steven Soderbergh’s latest screen project.

“Haywire,” hitting theaters next month, casts Carano as a mysterious agent fighting back against those who double crossed her. Standard action movie bullet points, no doubt. But Carano’s off-screen scrapping lends the trailer a juicy kick, and the talented cast – including Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas – adds plenty of class to the proceedings.

Will Carano punch her way into action movie fans’ hearts? January is a dumping grounds for bad films, so “Haywire” should have precious little competition.

The rest may be up to Carano, whose delicate features clearly haven’t been rearranged too much in the ring.

(more…)

“You can’t run forever, Puss in Boots!”

So shouts a helpless victim to the title character in this new film about the cat originally introduced in ‘Shrek 2.’ Voiced by Antonio Banderas, Puss is the feline outlaw known for his swashbuckling skills. The ‘Shrek’ series cast Puss as a supporting character, but the spinoff feature offers a glimpse into the life of the young cat before he met the big, green ogre and friends.

—–

‘Shrek’ fans burned out by the franchise’s sequels will find ‘Puss in Boots’ offering a fresh story jam-packed with fun characters and witty dialogue.

(more…)

Recently, I was called cranky in an article posted at the Huffington Post.  The good news is that it’s one of the few times that anything approaching the truth has been posted there.  The part I resented, though, was having my crankiness attributed to age.  The fact is I was a precocious curmudgeon.  But the question that springs to mind is why more people aren’t cranky these days when there is so much to be cranky about.

For instance, it used to irk me that Carl Bernstein, a rather minor footnote in America’s history, who only came to prominence because an anonymous snitch chose to pass along secrets to him and Bob Woodward, was depicted in two major motion pictures, “All the President’s Men” (Dustin Hoffman) and “Heartburn” (Jack Nicholson), when so many more deserving people haven’t been featured in any.  But that pales when compared to the number of movies that have glorified Che Guevara, a blood-thirsty villain.  In addition to numerous TV productions, he has shown up in “Che!” (Omar Sharif), “Evita” (Antonio Banderas), “Motorcycle Diaries” (Eduardo Noriega Gael Garcia Bernal) and “Che: Parts One and Two” (Benecio Del Toro). (more…)